Chapter. 15 – Lessons in Humility
“Can I ask you for some advice, Fluttershy?” Currently sitting comfortably at said mare’s kitchen table, Sunset Shimmer was lightly sipping at a cup of tea. In front of her was a small selection of cakes sitting on a white plate in the centre of the table, just begging to be sampled.
Further beyond the plate, on the opposite side of the table sat Fluttershy the mare in question. She too had a cup of tea in front of her, but was currently distracted by her white pet bunny Angel; who seemed to be oddly timid around the flaming maned unicorn.
“Of course Sunset, what’s on your mind?”
“Well, you know how Rainbow and Applejack have been going back and forth over who’s the most athletic, or the best at this or that?”
“Let me guess,” Fluttershy responded with a knowing smile gracing her muzzle. “There’s been a few of their challenges that you would have done well in, perhaps even won?”
“Yeah, how did you know?” Sunset had never mentioned, nor even shown off her athletic prowess. Her exercising was done at night, during her exploratory patrols of the Everfree Forest.
“Having spent more than a few sessions with you at the spa, both Rarity and I have noticed that you are in amazing shape; if you don’t mind me saying so. It’s a little funny actually; Rarity is determined to get you in a few of her dresses.”
“Oh, well thank you Fluttershy, and I suppose Rarity too; even if I don’t think I’ll ever get inside one of her dresses.” Fluttershy let out a small giggle at that comment. “But back to those other two. They’ve never asked me to join in, and I don’t know if I would even if they did. I’ve always been taught to be discreet and humble; and thanks to you I can see how showing off could hurt ponies feelings. But with those two I feel that they need to learn some humility, at least a little.”
“Well, yes. I think you might be right; learning a little humility could do them some good. So, are you looking for a challenge to beat them in?”
“Oh no, I heard that the Running of the Leaves Festival is coming up soon. Do you think I should do it then?”
“Would you be able to? That race is a long one and is quite tough.”
“Yeah, winning the race should not be a problem, I don’t think. It’s more how do I go about doing it; do I go as fast as I can and get to the finishing line, or do I take it easy at first before finishing?”
“Hmm, well since we want to teach them a little humility and you would like to keep a low profile, perhaps the second option is for the best. Especially if they see you during the race enjoying the scenery; I would say that if you do come in the top three, they will most definitely want you to start joining in these competitions.”
“Yeah, that’s another point I’ll have to take into consideration. I do want to get to know all of you better, and this might be a good way of doing it; or it could alienate me to them since I am also good with magic.”
“Oh Sunset, I don’t think that will happen; I know those girls and while they are both a little stubborn and prideful, they have big hearts. They won’t shun you for being good at something; if anything they’ll be thrilled to find another challenge.” Fluttershy’s face was full of confidence about this, with a gentle smile that accompanied it. It reassured Sunset greatly.
“Sunset, what in tarnation are you doing here?” While it was said of honest surprise there was also a condescending hint to it?
The festivals atmosphere was loud and enjoyable; with the childish yells of happy colts and fillies filling the air, which broke up the amplified voice of Mayor Mare’s latest speech. Spread throughout the grounds were the standard arrays of fairground rides, stalls of games as well as the occasional vendor selling tasty treats. But clearly the biggest attraction was the main event; the running of the leaves.
At least a dozen ponies were already at the starting line, including Applejack; who was just finishing up tying Rainbows Dash’s wings.
“Umm, Applejack. I do not believe tying Rainbow Dash up like that is beneficial to a ponies ability to run.”
“Just ensuring Rainbow here is gonna run a clean race, Sunset. Now what brings you over to the starting line? Here to wish us luck before the race? You’d best get it over with quick; it’s about to start.”
Just behind the straw haired farm pony, Rainbow Dash was making exaggerated facial movements, vaguely in time with what Applejack was saying. Sunset raised an eyebrow at the antics, but did not comment on them.
“Oh no, I wasn’t here for that. But I guess I should wish the both of you luck, now that you mentioned it. No I’m here for another reason.”
Rainbow was clearly a little agitated; so before Applejack could say anything, she burst in with her own question. “So if you weren’t here to wish me luck in the race, not that I need luck or anything, what are you here for?”
“Well, I’m racing.”
Rainbow Dash burst out laughing at the comment, not quite powerful enough to collapse onto the ground, but still a powerful laugh. “Oh, good one Sunset.”
“I’m not joking, I’ve entered the race.” It was said with the sound of a smile, but Sunset’s face was stuck in a neutral position.
“What? Sure your fit and all, but you’re not an athlete. You’re a, well, no offence, but you’re an egghead. The only thing I’ve seen you do is carry stacks of heavy books.”
“Egg head? What’s that?”
“What’s an egghead? It’s someone who is a know-it-all and obsessed with reading far too much.”
“Oh well, then no I’m not an egg head. I’m just well read.” Rainbow said something quietly to Applejack who giggled along with the comment.
Applejack cleared her throat from her laugh. “Well, have you ever run in a race?”
“Well, no. But I do know a lot about running.”
“Let me guess, from books? Pff, what did you read the Eggheads Guide to Running? HAHA, did you stretch out your eye muscles to warm up? HAHA, get it, eye muscles.” Applejack was trying her very best not to join Rainbow on the floor laughing. Sunset’s face remained impassive, except for the smallest of huffs exhaling out of her nose; determination was building to show them some humility. It looked like Applejack wanted to say something more, but was cut off by the announcer.
“All right ponies! Are you ready!” ‘Huh Pinkie’s doing the announcing? That’s going to be some chaotic commentary. Will anyone actually be able to follow it, or the race? And since when did she have a hot air balloon? Is it hers, or is she borrowing it from somepony?’
“On your marks. Get set…GO!”
Every pony at the start line sprinted into the forest, a massive dust cloud covering most of the racers; except for one. Pinkie herself did a double take before reining in her balloon; she felt it appropriate to clarify with the lone pony that was just standing there.
“Umm, Sunset. Why are you just standing there?”
“Hmm. Oh, sorry Pinkie. Just working out how much of a head start they need to make it a fair race.”
“…Okay. Well, how long do you think they need?”
“Probably another few minutes, but I guess I’ll just start jogging along now.” And with that Sunset Shimmer joined the race; going at a pace that nearly everypony watching would have certainly said was too fast to be simply jogging.
As she followed the forest trail Sunset could see that most of the leaves had fallen off the trees; the earth magic from the majority of the racers assisting with the task. It had transformed the ground into a carpet of colours; it was a pretty, if messy, display.
‘The other racers have done a good job at knocking down the leaves on the path. Fall is the favourite season for a lot of ponies, and I could certainly see the appeal; all the colours are certainly magnificent. However I preferred the new delicate life of spring, or perhaps the still peacefulness of winter. Honestly every season has its beauty as well as their downfalls. I suppose it’s just like many of the pon- what’s Applejack doing?’
Slowly picking herself up from the dirt path was Applejack. She looked furious and as Sunset approached she just caught the tail end of her talking about cheating.
“Are you ok, Applejack?”
“Sunset, did you see that? Rainbow Dash just tripped me!”
“Are you sure about that?” Sunset had stopped next to the orange farm pony and was currently staring just behind her hooves, where an innocent small rock half buried in the dirt was resting there.
“Are you calling me a liar?”
“No, it’s just there’s a rock right behind where you’re standing. Are you sure you didn’t trip over it?”
“What? A rock?! Aww, ponyfeathers! Now I’ve got all that ground to catch up. Thanks for setting me straight Sunset; I’ll see y’all at the finishing line.” A small dust cloud was left behind as Applejack sprinted off to catch up with the racers.
Sunset stayed behind to remove the trip hazard from the path; it was actually a bigger rock than she thought, roughly the size of a large apple. With little effort the obstacle was tossed away from the path, before some soil was levitated up and took the place of the rock. With the satisfaction of a job well done, she was happy to continue her jog through the forest. ‘A little bit longer, I think.’
Sunset admired her jog through the forest, seeing it start to get ready for winter; most of the trees where without leaves and had that lifeless look to them. “Huh, the winds picked up a bit, the leaves are starting to fly in the air. Ooh, they’re even starting to pile up together. Tempest never let me do this, but she’s not here, soo.” Sunset pounced on the unsuspecting pile of leaves.
It wasn’t that large a pile but the scattering of the leaves as she landed did make her feel like a filly; she even let out a small giggle.
Sunset continued on her path jumping into piles of leaves of sufficient size before she stopped in her tracks. There, just beyond a stump was a pile of leaves almost as big as she was. With no hesitation Sunset launched herself into the pile, but was rewarded by something that wasn’t leaves.
“Ooof. Hey what’s the big idea?! Huh, Sunset?”
“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry Rainbow. I’ve been jumping in all the good piles of leaves that have been building up and yours was the biggest; well I didn’t think anypony was actually in it, let alone yourself. Why are you in it?”
“Applejack tripped me up!”
“Are you sure? I mean there’s a stump right here, see. Could it be you tripped up on that?”
“All I see is a big cheater!”
“Rainbow, honestly that doesn’t sound like Applejack at all. It must have been an accident.”
“Sure it was.” The tone was aggressive and anything but sincere. Sunset raised an eyebrow at the blue coated mare; she wilted a little at the look.
“Just remember Rainbow. This is supposed to be a fun competition, right? You know, a game? You might not even win it?” Sunset said just before she left Rainbow to her thoughts. ‘Prehaps I should stop jumping into the piles of leaves now; just in case there’s another pony buried within them. Ooh, after this one here, oh and that one there.’ Sunset continued her game of jumping into piles of leaves, barely noticing Rainbow dashing past her to catch up to the rest of the racers.
“Ponyville?”
“Yeah, according to Quick Quill aunt Celestia wants to have next year’s Sunset Celebration at Ponyville.” Trixie and Spike were currently situated within Trixie’s private quarters within the castle. Located within the main floor of the Royal Residential area of the castle; it consisted of two rooms, a living/study area, and the bedroom itself with its own bathroom suit. The two were sitting opposite each other by the unlit fire, the coffee table between them filled with sheets of paper, scrolls and books.
With the success of the previous Summer Sun Celebration behind them, they were now hard at work planning for next year’s one. Quick Quill had given them more freedom to work, but with the proviso of weekly updates to confirm their progress.
Currently they were considering a different company to produce the decorations, when the realisation that the festival was not happening in Canterlot finally sunk in.
“…Spike I’m never going to get use to you calling Princess Celestia ‘aunt’ regardless if it’s a biological relation or not. But why Ponyville? Sure it’s a nice town, but that’s just it. It’s a town, a small town at that with nothing really going for it other than being close to Canterlot.”
“Hey don’t look at me; it’s Cadance that wants me to call Princess Celestia ‘aunt’ it’s strange for me too. But you’re right about Ponyville, do you know if it holds any significance for aunt Celestia? A friend, or fond memory maybe? Heck, do they have a particularly good bakery? You know how she can be when it comes to good cakes.”
“I still can’t believe your sister-in-law is Princess Cadance.”
“Well, technically she’s my aunt; but I’ve known her all my life and the look she gives me any time I bring that up is scary. I think that’s another reason why she’s trying to get me to call Princess Celestia ‘aunt’.”
“Whatever. Sigh, but no, I’m not aware of anything about Ponyville that Princess Celestia would change such a tradition over, especially for next year.” Both parties lost themselves in thought, trying to think of a reason why the Princess wanted Ponyville to host such a prestigious event.
Spike blinked at a thought that crossed his head. “Wait, isn’t she there right now? We’re deep into fall and they hold that ‘Running of the Leaves’ festival every year around mid-fall.”
“Is it really that time already? But yeah, she goes every year; apparently she loves watching all the colourful leaves act like snow or something. I can’t remember the full reason why, but she does enjoy that festival.”
“Huh, well do you think it might be a good idea to go and find out why the Princess likes it so much? Ponyville I mean.”
“What, go around asking ponies there why the Princess loves their town so much? I’m sure we’d get nothing but unbiased answers.” Trixie waved her hooves around emphasising her exaggeration.
“Na, I was more thinking trying to find out ourselves. They just got a new librarian this year, right. Well she’ll have access to the town’s history, and she’s probably still impartial enough for us to ask for help with this.”
“Hey, not a bad idea Spike. We can cover our investigation by saying we’re scouting local ponies to help set up the festivities. To find the right ponies for the job will no doubt require us to interview, and it would be foolish to go back and forth every day just for that. We’d best stay there to save all that travel, and prevent us from rushing.”
“Yeah, and if we just so happened to find something that relates to Princess Celestia and why she keeps returning to the town, it’ll be a surprising coincidence, nothing else.”
“Spike, your quite the devious little dragon, aren’t you.”
Spike grinned cheekily, “Naa, I’ve just been spending too much time around you.”
She retaliated by sticking her nose into the air and closed her eyes. “Well, if that is how you want to act. Trixie shall do this venture all on her own!” Her eyes shot open and her cheeks reddened slightly in embarrassment. “Please don’t tell Princess Celestia I spoke in third person. She promised soap in my mouth if her years of hard work went down the drain and I reverted back to that habit.”
“Well I guess you stuck with me for this investigation then. Come on, let’s go see Cadance. The faster we get this ball rolling, the easier it will be to believe that we are actually scouting for ponies to do the work we need for the festival.” Spike got up and started to head towards the door with Trixie moments behind.
That the two were close enough to joke around like that was something that Trixie was really beginning to appreciate. ‘Maybe there is something in what the princess says about making friends.’
‘Huh, guess Applejack does cheat from time to time.’ Sunset was actually running now and had just caught up with the pack, when she saw Pinkie Pie give Applejack a lift using her balloon. She didn’t know why, as she hadn’t seen her two friends since she jumped on top of Rainbow Dash.
Keeping to a moderate pace, Sunset slowly climbed the pack as everypony around her started to tire out; when she heard something pass over head at quite the speed, leaving a rainbow vapour trail. ‘Rainbow’s cheating now too?! That I find a little more believable but still, I promised them humility; best take this seriously, and if both of them want to cheat guess I will too.’
Sunset had just pulled to the front of the pack; with no pony able to get a clear look at her horn, she cast a quick illusion spell around her magic appendage to cover the tell-tale sign of magic use. With her horn no longer able to glow, she started to convert her own magic into the earth pony tribes magic.
What fatigue she had lessened considerably, and her running speed increased even more; despite not putting any more effort into her running than she had been previously. With a final push she was now galloping towards the finish line.
Running past a steep slope she thought she heard something crash, but a quick look showed only a few pebbles falling onto a ledge; a rock must have gotten loose. Without any more thought Sunset brought her focus back to the race, trying to find Applejack and Rainbow Dash in front of her.
‘They can’t be this far ahead? I was sure I had figured out how fast they’d be going, but then I didn’t expect them to cheat. Do I go even faster? It would push me to my top speed, but then I’d be showing off more than I already am.
‘Wait, is that the finish line? Yeah, it is. Damn they both must have finished already. Well no point generating any more earth pony magic; I’ll just run all out without it, it’s a little slower, but it’s the end of the race. I’m getting tired, honest.’
The silent conversion stopped but she timed her increase in her galloping to the reduction of earth magic coursing through her system. No one would be able to tell that she had been cheating; with a final thought she dismissed the illusion on her horn.
Sunset crossed the finish line with a sweat on her brow and a good puff to her breathing. The crowd was cheering and congratulating her on a good race, she was quickly joined by both Fluttershy and Rarity.
“Huff, sorry girls, I wasn’t able to beat them. Pant, where are they anyway; getting their medals or something?”
“Sunset what are you talking about? You won! You’re the first one to finish! Oh come on darling, Princess Celestia is over here waiting to award the runners.” Hearing Rarity’s words, Sunset looked over to Fluttershy who nodded with a big smile on her face.
“Seriously darling, I knew you were in shape but the way you were running; why I’d think you’d give even earth pony athletes a run for their money. Pun totally intended of course.” Rarity said with a smile. “So, where do you get the time to stay in shape; I never see you exercise, and I’m always up at the crack of dawn to make sure Sweetie Belle is ready for school.”
“Huff, oh I go in the evenings when it’s quiet. I don’t like showing off when it comes to my fitness.” By now they had reached a small stand where a collection of gold coloured medals were seated, and beside them was a smiling Princess Celestia. There were a few lingering crumbs on her chin.
“Ah, Sunset Shimmer the town’s librarian. I can imagine not many ponies thought you’d finish first. I guess what they say is true; you can’t judge a book by its cover, right Sunset?”
Sunset didn’t know if she should laugh or groan; it helped that the smile on Princess Celestia’s face was one clearly saying she knew the joke was bad, but didn’t care. “Anyway, congratulations on coming first in the Running of the Leaves; here’s your first place medal as well as the festival trophy. Your name shall be engraved on the small plaque here and you can look after it until next year or return it to town hall.”
“Thank you Princess, I think I’ll keep it for the year. It’ll have a nice place within the library for everyone to see.”
“That sounds like a grand idea, and I see you have also made some new friends.”
“Yes Princess, may I introduce you to Rarity and Fluttershy. I have been having tea with Fluttershy for some time now, and the three of us have been taking weekly spa days with each other. I have three other friends; two you know about, if you remember me telling you about Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie when you came to tea. My final friend’s name is Applejack.”
“I am glad to hear that you’ve made so many friends. Please go enjoy yourself; it looks like the other racers have finally finished as well. If you want feel free to send me a full report on your friends later.”
“Thank you Princess; enjoy the rest of your day.” Sunset turned to her friends wearing her new medal; the trophy she left with the Princess, it would be sent to the library when the engraving was completed.
Fully facing the two mares she was confused by their faces; they looked stunned. “Fluttershy, Rarity, are you ok?”
Blink. “Sunset darling. When were you going to tell us that you knew the princess?”
“Oh, umm I don’t know her all that well. She was the one who gave me the position in Ponyville, and she also visited me on the first day I was here. Currently I am working on a couple of projects that has her interest, so has requested monthly reports on them.”
They had started walking back towards the finish line, and whatever else the group was going to talk about was interrupted by Pinkie Pie and her amplified voice.
“For last!”
By this point they were close enough to see that both Applejack and Rainbow Dash were a mess; it looked like their competition got a little heated. ‘Ah, they both found out that the other was cheating.’ It was no surprise that it was Rainbow who asked who the winner was.
Sunset was all set to keep quiet, but a not so subtle jab by Rarity and a more timid one from Fluttershy made her walk forward.
“YOU?!”
“Yup, first place with time to spare. Not too bad considering I’ve never ran in a race before.”
“What, how is that possible?” Applejack was still a little out of breath, but her shock of losing so badly was written all over her face.
“But you were running so slowly. You were even playing in the leaves!”
“Exactly, I was pacing myself; just like my training told me to do. Then once we were closer to the end, I sprinted to the finish. The playing in the leaves was a bit risky I admit, but this whole event was supposed to be fun.”
Rainbow appeared to be in shock. “I don’t believe it. Sunset beat us!”
“Well it looked like you two were seriously horsing about; in the end it was quite easy.” That seemed to hit a nerve. Her two friends looked quite humbled.
“Your right Sunset, our behaviour was just terrible.”
“Yeah, we weren’t good sports.”
“Sounds to me like an important lesson was learnt.” While the three of them had been talking, Princess Celestia had followed.
Sunset stepped back while the three talked and her eyes locked onto Rarities; an obvious message of desperately needing to hear exactly how she knew the princess, was screaming out of her eyes. Sunset tried to message back with her own set that she would, but at a later date; the stare died down, apparently in acceptance.
“Hey, Sunset! You up for another run? This time just between us friends?” Applejack called over to her; the humble smile on her face confirmed her words that it would just be a friendly run, and Rainbow was nodding along with the statement. Sunset glanced at Fluttershy who nodded with a happy smile on her face; their plan seemed to be a success and the competition between their two friends had settled down.
“Sure, I think I’ve rested enough for a good run with you two.” Almost at once her two friends started off. Sunset bowed once more to the Princess with spoken thanks for helping her friends, levitated her medal over to Rarity for safe keeping, before, at last, dashing off to catch up.
“So Sunset. You said you’ve had training in running, how long?” Rainbow asked as they all ran together. It was a brisk but pleasant pace, enough to build a sweat and knock off the leaves.
“I’ve been training in all kinds of things since I was a filly.”
“Yeah, we gathered that.” Applejack added. “But when did you start yer fitness training?”
“As a filly. My magic instructor believed that the best way to train the mind was to also train the body. I’ve had to train intensely for years.”
“You lied to us, about running races?”
“No Rainbow, I’ve never actually ran in a race; my childhood was pretty isolated. All my training was done solo, or with my mentor.”
“Well ya got us to train and have fun with now. Whenever you wanna get yer mane dirty, just ask us and we’ll see what ya can do.” Rainbow readily agreed with this idea, and all three continued their run through the forest, removing the few leaves still lingering on their perches.